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Biophys. J. BioFAST: First Published March 31, 2006. doi:10.1529/biophysj.105.077115
© 2006 by the Biophysical Society.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2006.
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BIOPHYSICAL THEORY AND MODELING

Limitation of cell adhesion by the elasticity of the extracellular matrix

Alice Nicolas 1* and Samuel A Safran 2

1 CNRS
2 Weizmann Institute of Science

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: alice.nicolas{at}unice.fr.

Submitted on November 3, 2005
Revised on December 15, 2005
Accepted on 9 March 2006


  Abstract
Cell/matrix adhesions are modulated by cytoskeletal or external stresses and adapt to the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix. We propose that this mechanosensitivity arises from the activation of a mechanosensor located within the adhesion itself. We show that this mechanism accounts for the observed directional growth of focal adhesions and the reduction or even cessation of their growth when cells adhere to a soft extracellular matrix. We predict quantitatively that both the elasticity and the thickness of the matrix play a key role in the dynamics of focal adhesions. Two different types of dynamics are expected depending on whether the thickness of the matrix is of order of or much larger than the adhesion size. In the latter situation, we predict that the adhesion region reaches a saturation size that can be tuned by the mechanical properties of the matrix.

Key Words: cell adhesion, elasticity, extracellular matrix, mechanosensor, physical modeling




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Copyright © 2006 by the Biophysical Society.